Tom Dumoulin says pulling out of Tour de France 2019 ‘felt like a relief’

The 2018 runner-up was forced to skip the race due to a knee injury

Tom Dumoulin during stage two of the Critérium du Dauphiné 2019 (Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty Images)

(Image credit: AFP/Getty Images)

Tom Dumoulin said pulling out of the Tour de France “felt like a relief.”

The Dutch star had been rushing a return from injury in order to compete for the 2019 Tour title, but has announced he will not race after accepting his recovery has not progressed enough.

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